Stings Like Betrayal
by DeviWan
Summary: Nothing stings more than coming back to your lovely home and finding your fiance cheating on you with his first love. It makes you feel like the antagonist, the third corner to this love triangle. He's hurt you, now he has to pay for it. Naru/Ita. Slash.


Title: Stings Like Betrayal

Pairing: Naruto/Itachi

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: Angst (hopefully), Shounen-ai, and crude language. Also, there isn't a lot of dialogue, but hopefully you'll still find it interesting. This story has not been beta-read by anybody, and if you see mistakes, please comment on it and I'll try and fix it up.

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><p><strong>Stings Like Betrayal<strong>

You've known him his whole life. Ever since he could remember, there have always been his parents, and you and your brother. You are part of his family, the ones he loves above all. You and your little brother are almost on par with his parents. You and little Sasuke and little Naruto grew up together, joined at the hips and always up to something. You are older than them, and at times you felt the sting of jealousy when you realise that Sasuke and Naruto are best friends. But when you saw them together, you felt silly because they were the most adorable pair ever. You felt that urge to pinch their cheeks, and could totally empathize with old ladies who make a habit out of it.

You go through high school alone, because the two closest friends you have are five years younger than you. And when you're about to go to college, your family moves to another country as your father goes on to be overlord of the business world. Your brother stays with Naruto to go through high school together, because when people think about things, they think that Sasuke's the one who wouldn't survive without Naruto. They don't realise that it's you who hurts the most when you're not with them. Anyway, you go because it's either you or Sasuke. You're the big brother, and you love Sasuke to a ridiculous level, so you take the steps and get on the plane. You love them that much.

All three of you keep in contact. Every time you speak to both your beloved brother and Naruto, you hide a chuckle, because they are growing up and going through changes. One of those changes is their voice. They crack occasionally, and Sasuke only makes it worse when he tries not to notice it. Naruto too. They both get so embarrassed that all three of you end up only talking through the phone and emails. You feel guilty and saddened, because you see them less and less. They send photos, and when they do your heart beats faster and the world spins. They are growing up, so fast, because when they reach the age of seventeen you realise they're both taller than you. Sasuke being taller than you, you can understand. It's Naruto that confuses you. He's always been tiny, so tiny that even when he was twelve, you could have easily picked him up and hoist him on your hip.

Not anymore though…

In the clumsily taken photos, you clearly see the muscles that were both lithe, and still bigger than you. Naruto makes you feel unhealthy and self-conscious. Naruto and Sasuke have always looked up to you, literally, and they thought you were god. You wondered what they'd think of you now that they're bigger than you. There'd definitely be some teasing. You spend four days pondering this, much to the annoyance of your business-overlord of a father. When you do get over it, though, you realise that you'll always have power over them. That power is blackmail. You were there to learn to change their diapers; you were there when they potty-trained and you were there when they got into a fight in a giant birthday cake… _your_ birthday cake. You have materials to last you a life time and then some…

When you go home you're so happy it's embarrassing. Even though the air is polluted with car exhausts and other things, you smile big, because over the crowd you see two tall heads. One is dark and spikey at the back and the other is bright and spikey all around. They've come to pick you up. They've skipped a day of happy college life to greet you. You don't mind at all that Naruto runs up to you and gathers you in his big arms. You don't complain when he hugs you tight and you feel your trapped arms bruising. You don't complain… because you fit, and there's a happy blush on your face. You can feel it, can feel the blush heating you up as your body reacts to Naruto's own warmer, firmer one.

Sasuke doesn't hug you, because he's got this thing where he thinks public displays of emotions is just plain rude. Again you don't mind, because you know that when you get home, Sasuke will be all over you, offering drinks, getting your bags, cleaning up your room for you. He won't hug you, but he will hover. He'll hover in his own brooding, dignified way.

On the drive home they tell you everything. Well… it's Naruto that tells you. Sasuke's the one doing the correcting. "Dobe, that was ten years ago. He was there," and "Idiot, we already sent pictures to him. You don't need to tell him again," and "Dude, that never happened…"

You smile daintily, not a giant grin like Naruto and not a permanent scowl like Sasuke, but something nice and in between. You don't feel left out because you can just feel how happy they are that you're here. The ride home is wonderful, even though you spend most of the time wondering why you can't look at Naruto without your body heating up, and your mind going hazy. It's definitely attraction, you're sure of that. Naruto is ridiculously attractive. His eyes are narrower, more mature and so, so blue you think you might be in love with them. When you were a kid, you thought it was cute and colourful. Now you think he must be a heart breaker.

You settle in perfectly at your old-turned-new house. But you've been alone for a long time, and within a month you move out and into a beautiful penthouse. You let your mother choose it for you, because you trust her sense of security for her son and the artist in her. Sasuke comes to help you move your things, and he brings with him a girl.

You think you might drop down and have a heart attack. They have something, something deep and meaningful and so ethereal. Hyuuga Hinata is beautiful and kind and a shy little thing that you find yourself already approving. Sasuke sends you an apologetic look, as if to say sorry for not telling you sooner. You forgive him, because you wouldn't want to know about her without seeing her anyway.

Just after you finish settling in to your new home, Naruto bursts in through the door with beers and chips. Sasuke starts an argument about his convenient timing, and you take Hinata out to the balcony to enjoy drinks in peace. You and her talk. You find her so endearing and hope she and Sasuke stay together for ever and ever. Soon the bickering friends join you and Hinata.

All four of you spend the night together, not partying, but not just lazing around. You watch movies and listen to Naruto talk. Hinata and Sasuke try not to be too obvious in their cuddling, but you find you don't mind… not when Naruto seems to draw all your attention. Halfway through the movie you realise you long for him, and this realisation is closely followed by fear. You fear what Naruto would think of you should he ever find out about your feelings. It would almost be like incest to him; he loves you only as a brother. At the word 'incest' in your head, you flinch away from Sasuke, and this lands you closer to Naruto.

You catch his eyes, or maybe he catches yours, but you suddenly realise that he hasn't been watching the movie too. You heart leaps, so hopeful, and you suddenly want Sasuke and Hinata out of the house. You'd kick them out, if you weren't so captivated by the beautiful blond in front of you. You see your Naruto gulping and you trace the line of his throat with lusty eyes. Never mind manners…

"Sasuke, go away."

Sasuke and Hinata happily oblige. It's not that they don't like being here; it's just that they are two people in love and they want to be alone too. Now, with you and Naruto alone, you hesitate. It could be a one-time thing, you realise, but you don't want it to be. You want it this time and every time ever after. You want Naruto, and only Naruto.

You didn't kiss him first, that much you know as you wake up. You recall being too busy thinking that Naruto made the first move. You remember how he jumped across the wide couch and took you head in his big hands. You fell a little bit more in love, with his big hands which covered you so preciously. And when Naruto kissed you, it's like gravity couldn't be bothered working anymore… and the only reason you were still on Earth was because Naruto was. You wondered if it was love, if you were in love with Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who had been like another little brother to you. You remember thinking too much on it, and left yourself open for Naruto to pick you up and bring you to your bedroom.

Now you lie awake, your head tucked in so low that you feel Naruto's chest expanding and contracting on your head. You feel the cool air on your exposed ear, and tuck yourself in even further into Naruto's side. He's warm, so, so warm and you should have realised he would be. He was warmth. You close your eyes and breathe him in, him and his attractive, musky scent. When you shift to get even closer, sharp but pleasant pain shoots through you lower back. As if it's a floodgate, other sensations follow. Your hips are sore, and without even looking you know there must be hand-shaped bruises there.

When your Naruto wakes, you both lie in bed and stare at each other. None of you talk, and yet, when noon rolls around you both know that you are in love, and whatever you have going on will last forever.

Not long after, Naruto moves in with you. It's one of the happiest times of your life. He brings to your penthouse warmth and happiness. You realise you love him so much that sometimes it aches.

He's the one, you realise.

When work gets to you, and you have to skip eating and sleeping to get it done, you think about him, and everything works itself out. You belong together. Every day you tell him you love him, and he grins and hugs you tight, and whisper in your ear "I love you too, so damn much."

He's your first love. There's been no one else before him, and you know that there won't be anyone else after him. In fact, there won't even be an 'after him.'

Now… Now you support your upper body with your left arm, over Naruto. Your right hand traces soft, loving trails along his face. Your breath is shuddery, because it's kind of exhausting to stay hovering over such a large body and move back and forth at the same time. And your lover must sense this, because his hands land on your hips and he guides your willing body along. He moves you, above him, up and down and you snap your hip as he snaps his to meet you halfway. Deep, deep inside you, he owns you. He's touching a place no other has before, he's loving you and you both can't get enough of it. You're in love.

You're much older than him, you think about this too. You worry, because sometimes you feel like you're holding him back, that you're bounding him. You feel guilty, and when you do you can't eat properly. Somehow, food doesn't matter to you as much. There's a party with Naruto's friends, and at the same time there's an important event at your work. You have to attend work, but the important people from the other company want to meet your partner. You ask Naruto to go, selfishly, even though you know he really wants to go to this party. At the time you didn't understand, because according to you, Naruto and his friends party every week. What made this one different? Anyway, Naruto agrees to go to the event with you.

The whole night you two don't speak, and the whole time you can't breathe properly. When you come home, you go to sleep silently. You don't understand why you both didn't say anything. There was no reason for not talking. The next morning, while Naruto is out you call Sasuke and ask him how the party was. He told you that Haruno Sakura, a girl friend from high school, moved back into town. You thought you understood; Naruto loves his friends like family. You didn't know that she had been your Naruto's first love. You shall remain unaware of this until a later time…

Many years blur past you, but you never seem to notice. It only occurs to you when you celebrate Naruto and Sasuke's birthdays. Sasuke's comes before Nauto's, and so, when they're both twenty four… and this means you're twenty nine, you show Naruto a ring. You silently ask him to marry you, and his answer must be yes because he jumps you and fucks you all over the large penthouse; on the walls, over the tables –this includes coffee table, kitchen table, work table- against the door, on the stairs –achingly- and finally in the bed. You ask him again just before you past out from sex-overdrive. He says yes and gropes you until you sleep. You smile in your sleep, because if you know Naruto, and you do, you'd know that he'd be energized and ready for more sex in the morning.

It doesn't seem wrong at all, any way you look at it, this is it. You've been together since Naruto learnt how to talk, and it will lead you to this. Nothing can be otherwise…

He's your soul mate, you know this and so does everyone around you. You can't imagine a future without him, just as you can't imagine a future without your adorable little brother. You love him so much, and it's all perfect because you know he feels the same way. There are times when you think he might be tired of you, but he always assures you otherwise. And there are times when you fight, but you always end up together, like the universe willed it that way. You think any pain or trouble, or insecurity is worth it, because Naruto loves you just as much as you love him.

And so… you don't understand how this scene came to be.

This is probably the first time ever that you are given an early mark. You leave work four hours earlier than usual, and happily make your way home. You don't know whether your love is home or not, he's unpredictable like that, but you're happy nonetheless. Any time from work is heaven to you.

You enter your home, naturally quietly take your shoes off and loosen yourself. You go into your study to drop off the case of work you brought home and hear Naruto's voice. A smile blooms on your face, because he sounds heavenly, and you're reminded again that you're completely enchanted. You gently push the door open, and the moment freezes in utter confusion.

You, Uchiha Itachi, are a smart man. Still, your brain automatically goes into denial. For a millisecond you try to take this picture in from every angle that doesn't spell CHEATING. And even though you're smart, a genius, you can't deny this, because every way you look at it Haruno Sakura is still sitting on the edge of your home-work table with her dress pushed up to her hips, and your fiancée is standing between her legs with his zipper undone.

You remember her, Sakura. She's grown up now, obviously, and you think she's absolutely beautiful. For a little bit you can't blame Naruto… but then you see Naruto's hand, with your ring on a finger, placed gently on her smooth, pale thigh.

The case you carry falls to the ground with a resounding thud, the pair look at you. They freeze as well.

You tilt your head to the side, as if to try one more time to look at this from another angle. Again, you conclude that Naruto is cheating on you… with the person he fell in love with first, the person who came before you. A breath shudders its way past your mouth and you meet your Naruto's eyes. You bolt.

You think that the further you get away from them and the whole building, the pain would lessen. It doesn't. This is not a pain you can run away from. You run through the park to the other side, to the empty lake… and throw up in a bush. You haven't eaten… again, because your father just faxed you another potential partnership case, and you've been working on it. The other company is all the way on the other side of the country, and they seem to be full of potential. You've worked really hard, and you've scheduled a meeting with them. So, now you heave and heave, nothing comes out.

Bile escaped your mouth with a disgusting taste and a worse smell, and your tears join it in the bush. Something comes up with the bile and stops halfway up, at your throat, and soon you fall back on your bottom trying to catch a breath. You haven't had an asthma attack since you were nine, now you can almost see your life flashing before your eyes. Even as you are dying, you tears still fall. Sasuke, Sasuke, you think.

With trembling hands, you fumble for your phone and call your brother.

You don't know what hurts your chest more, the lack of breath, the broken heart or the bile that is on its way up again…

Hinata's soothing voice answers you. "I'm sorry Itachi, Sasuke's in the shower right now." You gasp and she stops. "Itachi? Is everything alright?" You can't answer her. Your vision is starting to blur and your ears are making it hard to focus on her voice. You try to talk, but only wheezing gasps come out, loud. "Itachi, where are you?"

This is important, you yell to yourself. This is important; you need to tell Hinata this. You need to tell her where you are so she can save you. You don't want to die yet! You've still got places to go, people to meet… questions to ask… … a wedding to attend as the groom.

"… lake…" you whisper into the machine. Your hands are weak now, and you let the phone sit on the ground. You lie down next to it. "… asthma… Sasuke…"

Sasuke has a puffer with him, you know this. You used to scold him for having it, because it reminds you of that horrible period of life where the attacks happen weekly. But your brother is stubborn, and so for sure, you know he has a puffer. He has to.

**.^.**

You stay in the hospital for a few days. When Sasuke and Hinata visit you, you talk to them, and eventually tell them what happened. When your mother visits, you let her hold you and cry. When Naruto visits, you pretend to sleep. When you can't fake sleep, you ask the nurse to give you something to make you sleep before he comes the next time.

He holds your hand, and you feel angered. He touches your hair and you fight tears. He kisses your forehead and you hate him.

Eventually Naruto and Sasuke have a fight. Naruto is banned from coming around, and you begin your recovery.

You remember your time in high school, where people call you 'cold.'

You bring forth that part, and shut everything else down, because when you're cold, nothing can touch you. Plus, it's easier being cold and unfeeling, than dealing with whatever tragedy you're feeling.

This is your problem; you love too much, or you're too cold to feel. You've loved, and it killed you. Now you're going to have to be cold. What else can you be?

Immediately, when you're discharged from the hospital, you call up your father and request a transfer. He reluctantly asks you how you are, and you remember thinking, '_oh, so you care after all. Too bad, now I don't_.' You reassure him monotonously, and he grants you the transfer. Before you hang up, you tell him the wedding is off. You're just being polite… wouldn't want him to travel all the way here for a none-existing wedding.

You move in a daze, call up your friend and ask him to look for an apartment for on the other side of the country. He finds you one and you move in straight away. You give Sasuke the engagement ring and ask him to give it back to Naruto. You also ask him to collect anything you need to work from the penthouse, as well as clothes. He does as you tell him, because your brother is powerless against you. You know he worries, but he needn't. You want to tell him that you can live now; you can go on as long as you don't feel anything.

This is why sometimes your mother fears you. When you're like this, you know people can't read you, they don't know what you're feeling.

Your new apartment is bland. This time you can't bring yourself to care. You'll only be here when work hour is finished anyway.

You engage yourself into work, and the next time you come up, it's the beginning of October. Immediately you realise why you woke from the daze; it's nearly Naruto's birthday. You sit there, at home, on the couch with the blank screen of the TV. There's a can of something in your hand, and when you look down you see that it's beer. The phone rings and you get up to answer it, only to stop completely when you walk past a window and see your reflection. You're ugly. The bags under your eyes are now more obvious than ever, you, for the love of God you can even see your clavicle. Your face is more angular, your lips chipped. You've lost weight. Your hair is longer too, now it reaches your back and the bangs at the front are too long to be considered bangs anymore. You look like your mother, a thin, beat version of your mother.

The phone stops ringing, and you don't even care about it. It's probably Sasuke. You turn back to the window and try to see your dark eyes. You try to see if they look as dead as you feel inside. You compare your face now, to the face you had when you were happily engaged with the man you…

Naruto, you wonder how he's doing.

Now that months have passed, you've calmed down. When you think about it, you'd rather lose Naruto to someone like Sakura than anyone else. At least you know for sure that she's honestly kind and clever and tough. The only false you can find in her is that she has affairs with engaged men.

You still love Naruto. That thought comes to you randomly. You still love him, and thus, you want him to be happy. If he's happy with Haruno Sakura, then so be it. You only ask that you don't see any of them ever again. You wouldn't know what to do with all the happiness you know they'd be feeling. You'd implode, after spending after all these time not feeling anything.

After you look at yourself some more you eat, only to get up from bed hours later and throw up. Okay, lesson learnt: don't think about Naruto and Sakura if you want to keep food down.

The next day, as you go downstairs to get to your car in order to get to work, your empty stomach attacks you, your vision blurs and you fall down the remaining seven steps of the stairs. You fracture your right Tibia, and the doctors give you a short leg caste for it. After a few weeks you can walk on it, but the caste will have to stay on longer than that. It makes your leg look fat and demented. Your father feels guilty, for reasons you neither understand nor care about. He orders you to stay home and do work from there. You do. You also meet your grocery delivery man.

His name is Kakashi, and apparently he only works as a grocery delivery man on the weekend as a way of exercising. Other days of the week he's a teacher. He wears a mask that covers his face, and his hair silver in colour. He reads porn in public.

He's also nosy.

The first day he delivers your food, which you will eat and throw up anyway, he sees your caste and asks what happened. You say, "Thank you. You can go," and shut the door in his face.

He reminds you of Naruto, in that cheerful, nosy way. It hurts, and so it should go.

There's a constant stinging sensation in your chest, but really you know it's all in your head. It stings like betrayal, because that's what Naruto did. He betrayed you when he knew how much you loved and trusted him. Laziness, clumsiness, stupidity, loudness, ignorance you can handle, but betrayal, and thus cheating, you cannot. You've been stung, now the pain is there forever.

The grocery man comes again, with a can of baby corns. He says, "I forgot to put this in the bag, sorry."

You take the can and slam the door in his face.

You're not egotistic, but you hope he isn't trying to get to know you. You don't need love, not now that you've been unfeeling.

The man comes again, only when you open the door it's Naruto.

It's like that time you found him cheating on you. The moment freezes, and confusion floods you. You've cut your tie with him, so why is he here? You stay silent. You don't owe him anything, less of all an explanation. He owes you that, and so you wait.

You realise you're probably not a good sight to look at, and his blue eyes reflect that. This makes you wonder why Kakashi keeps coming around.

Naruto gulps nervously, you can see that, and for a brief second you feel something. It's glee. You actually like being cruel, it's deserving, and makes it just. You desperately want to be cruel to him, like he was to you, but deep down you know you shouldn't. This is Naruto. When you take away Naruto the lover, you have left Naruto the kid you grew up with and love like a brother. And it's this love that makes you stand there and listen to him.

"Itachi," he breathes. He searches for words, but you can tell that he doesn't think any word will justify what he did. In the end, he opt for, "I'm sorry." And wasn't that amazing? You could have said that for him. I'm sorry, the excuse of the century.

You become the cold Itachi, the one whose mother fears him. You look past Naruto the lover to see Naruto the little boy. "That's okay," you say. Even to you, it sounds like a robot's attempt at being human. "I'd rather it happen before the wedding than after. Now you won't have anything to regret."

Naruto crumbles. His tan face twists in pain, and you're confused. Why is he in pain? You tried to make it easier on him, didn't you? "Itachi," he croaks. You look at him properly, and you see that he doesn't look as great as you first thought. His hair is wilder, messier, and his tall stature is hunched over. Inside, you hope that it's shame that's weighing him down. Like a little boy, he looks lost.

"I think you should go, Naruto." You say what he wants to hear. "I don't hate you, not at all. If you're not in love with me, then at least now we know. And if you plan to have a future with Sakura, then now you can do it without regret." You step back. "Goodbye, Naruto." And shut the door.

You're so numb you can't even care to ask how he found you.

Slowly, calmly you walk towards your bathroom. As if it's a daily routine, you grab a small towel and toothbrush and set them up beside the sink. You'll need them when you finish vomiting.

**.^.**

When there's a knock at your front door, you know it's the delivery man by the cheerful whistling. You are curious as to how he can whistle with that tight mask of his.

"I didn't order anything," you say immediately. The man is irritating at best, and he's not helping your fractured Tibia. It's healing ridiculously slowly, and you guess it's reasonable… what with your poor diet. You try to eat every day, really, but your stomach rebels… every day. Now ulcers are forming on the inside of your cheeks and it hurts to speak. "Please, go away."

"Ah, but I already bought this for you," Kakashi holds up a paper bag. By the smell you know it's something sweet.

You feel your eyebrows furrow with your annoyance, and this disturbs you because you've been working so hard on not feeling anything. Feelings lead to Naruto… and that name leads to your stomach quenching. "Don't you have a job to do?"

"Naah, I'm not expected for another two hours." The silver-haired man moves in, without being invited, and goes straight for the kitchen. You limp after him.

He sets out a variety of sweets on your counter, grabs a plate for himself and sits on your couch and watches your TV. You contemplate calling the police on him, but you know he means well. You grab a small box of strawberries and sit on the counter, watching the older man. You watch him carefully, as your brain deconstructs him. He's being nice to you, doing you favours. "You want something." You narrow your eyes when you see the shift in him. "How dare you?" You hiss. Now, you know that Kakashi is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You feel rage coming on, and it's all Naruto's fault. It's coming out now, and Kakashi will receive it.

"Wait, please! I'm not asking for much."

Another type of anger rises in you. He wants money, and he's… he's… SHAMELESS!

"You!"

"Fund!" He shouts in return. "Animal shelter. Need fund. Lots of dying. Need help."

Your body is not used to this, you realise. It's in turmoil; feelings suppressed and not suppressed raging at you from all angles. You start to pant, and no matter how fast you do it you can't seem to get enough air. You start to panic when you realise that you're having another attack. Why? Why can't you be left alone? You're in pain and pain keeps coming.

"Hey," he moves to grab your arms. You fall against him first, and then brush past him in search of your puffer. Wordlessly he helps you search. You try to remember where you put it when you moved in, and your chest starts hurting when you can't remember. Then you step towards the bathroom, put too much weight on you right leg at the wrong angle, and you go down. What little breath you have is knocked out of you. You're left feeling light. Kakashi runs past your stilled form into the bathroom. You hear him search and remember. You put the puffer in the cupboard in there.

He comes out with it and easily lifts you up into his arms. It's wrong. Only Naruto gets to hold you like this, and since it'll never happen again, you should never be touched. You want to call out to him, to Naruto, but the thought of him not responding hurts you more. The puffer is placed at your mouth and you gather enough strength to use it by yourself. You take a long, long time to calm down. When you do, you sit still on the floor. "You…"

"I'm sorry," Kakashi mumbled. You're reminded of that time Naruto visited you. He came to apologise, and it's been done, so he will never appear here again. It hurts, and it feels like the end of the world… again. "We held fund raising events, but it only helped a little bit. The school supported the shelter as much as we could, but…"

"Why didn't you just ask me?" Your voice is whispery, and you think you're swaying on the spot.

"Well, at first I thought you were one of those rich snobs… sorry about that." The brutal truth in his voice hits you straight on. You almost don't recognise truth, not after the ultimate betrayal. "And then… I just needed an excuse to keep coming around… other than to deliver grocery of course."

"Tomorrow, I'll go down to the shelter." You say. You ignore his earlier comment, because as you said before, you really don't want any relationship. "I'll sponsor, of course, but I'd still like to see the place first."

He stares at you blankly. "Really?"

Is it strange that you're being kind? Until now have you really appeared as heartless as you wanted to?

You decide you feel offended.

**.^.**

For the first time in a long, long time you feel embarrassment. Your cheeks are warm and you feel that familiar warmth of shyness. Of course you're embarrassed. You walked into the animal shelter, looked into cage number thirty-two and adopted the thing inside. The girl who was there with you giggled at you, even though she tried to hide it. You realise how it must have looked; you, a person who appeared cold and heartless, adopting the puppy because it has the cutest set of puppy-dog eyes.

You don't regret it, of course not, how can you when said puppy is happily bouncing ahead of you in its soft leash? You understand that there must be work to be done before this cute little thing can be yours completely. There's the paperwork, which you'll procrastinate in doing until the time comes, and all the things that the dog will need. You'd go out and buy those things, but you need a little research first. You know it needs food, and toys, and possibly some place to sleep in because your bed is off limit, most of the time. Any other things, you'll have to research.

You lead the puppy to the car, then carefully limp to your apartment. Pets are allowed, but you worry still, because you're on the fourth floor and have a balcony. So, the balcony is off-limits to the dog too, then. You start to think that your adopting the puppy might have been a little too impulsive as you worry. You're a heartbroken, emotionally wrecked man. How would you care for a living, breathing being? You can barely take care of yourself as it is.

Your caste makes you slow and fragile, and the puppy is patient. It almost makes you smile.

You are shocked when you find Naruto standing outside your door, staring at it like time is frozen, and he won't move until the door opens.

Like the last time you saw him, you feel the rise of anger and disgust. Then, under that, you feel the longing and the love. You settle on nothing.

"Can I help you?" You ask him, gently tugging the puppy's leash back towards you. _Yes_, you think, _can I help you? Is there anything else you forgot to break and would like to do now? What more do you want?_ If your tone is a little flat, and perhaps a little mocking, you think that it's totally justified.

He turns to you, lightning fast, and stands straight. His blue, blue eyes are wild, crazed, and his posture is stiff. He looks like he might spring forward suddenly, and overwhelm you. You're suddenly aware of the difference in physique. He's taller, despite being younger, and he's stronger, 'cause he's been eating properly and regularly goes to the gym. You? You've done nothing but work. The most physical you've been had been lifting thick stacks of papers, and holding the TV remote. So yes, you are aware that if this whole thing turn physical, you'd go down… fast, but not without a fight of your own. No, actually, you probably would go down without a fight. There's no way you can lift a finger against Naruto, not as your ex-lover, but as the boy you grew up with… and practically raised.

You watch as the blond eyes the puppy –one who you've not named yet.

"Listen, please," he starts to say. Immediately you relax your own posture. "I… I know you probably don't wanna see me, or talk to me, but please, give me a chance." You blink; if not giving him a chance, then what are you doing here, listening? He's still so silly. "I love you. I don't feel for her the way I do for you. What happened… it was a big mistake. It was never…" He struggles for words and you decide to help him. The familiar spike of cruelty rises up in your chest. You want to hurt him. It doesn't matter that he's apologising.

"What?" You say. "It was never meant to be seen? I wasn't supposed to come home that early? Or, was that something you were going to save until we were married and you sneak out in the middle of the night to meet with her? You know, have some fun, be young, be fun like you never got to be because you were stuck with me?"

"No!" He yells. The puppy starts in fright and then settles again behind your leg, sniffing curiously at you caste. He's not afraid, you realise, just waiting for an opportunity. Deep down you hope he's waiting to bite Naruto's leg. "God, Itachi, how can you say that?" He pants like he's been running. His arms are raised, hands spread out, like he wants to touch your thin shoulders and pull you in. Rediculous. "I just… She was back, and I haven't seen her in years… and she was my first love... please, Itachi." He's about to cry, you realise, and it might be the first time. You wonder, has he even shed a tear about the breakup? Is he as sorry as you'd like to think?

"Your first love," you mumble. In your heart you don't feel anything, and you know that you're not going to forgive him. "And your only one, apparently." He opens his mouth to say something, but you're faster. "I have work to do, Naruto. And you're right; I don't want to see you and I don't want to listen to you. You've said sorry, and I accept your apology. I'm glad that it's Sakura that you've left me for… I just wished you'd be honest about it. Go and be happy, and don't come back here." You narrow your eyes at him, reminding him that you're older and smarter and wiser. He's the kid. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to get over you."

You see clearly the moment you break him. He crumbles. His eyes dim and hollow out, and the body standing in front of you is just that; a body. Naruto the soul has left and gone, lost. He doesn't stay gone for long. When he returns, he speaks. "No, you can't do that. I love you, Itachi, not Sakura, not anybody else on this planet. I fucked up, God I know that, but that doesn't change anything." You mentally scoff at this. "I still love you, so much. I wanna get married and go to places with you. Please…" He's getting desperate; you see this, because it looks like he's having a heart attack. "What do you want from me? What can I do to make this up to you?"

It's not enough. It will never be. You love him still, completely, but you can't trust him.

You open your front door and step into its safety. The puppy follows inside and you let the leash go. Behind you, you hear it run around. You look deep into the eyes of the man you love, the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. "I won't be happy, Naruto, until you stumble in and catch me with my dick out and fucking somebody else." You've never cursed or used rude words; it's just not your thing. You find it immature, but now you see why tonnes of people swear. It's free. "You will never know the pain you inflicted on me. I love you, Naruto, really I do, but I can never trust you. Please, go away and leave me alone. It's over."

You shut the door, feeling like… shit.

**.^.**

The last thing you said to him was "_You will never know the pain you inflicted on me. I love you, Naruto, really I do, but I can never trust you. Please, go away and leave me alone. It's over_." Now you realise that it's probably a stupid, idiotic thing to say to the man who you want to leave you alone. Out of those four short sentences, you can pick out one where Naruto would have too. "_I love you, Naruto, really I do, but I can never trust you_."

Naruto said he loves you still, and you don't believe him. You told him to leave you alone, and not for even a second did you believe he would do that. Naruto doesn't give up; that's just who he is. And so, why should he give up on you, just because you tell him to?

The next morning, when you open the door after a knock because you think it's Kakashi, you see Naruto.

He rushes forward to speak. "You said you love me," he grins. He's so bright this morning, not like yesterday when you crushed him. "You love me, and I love you. I know you're mad… no, furious at me and you probably hate me underneath that love, but you _love_ me. So I'm not giving up!" It's happening a lot faster than you can prepare for. Your dark eyes train on his wide grinning mouth. Then those grinning lips crash onto yours. His hands are on your arms, hauling you close to a familiar body, and he kisses you deeply, hard.

You almost turn to goo, all because you're so in love with him.

But a kiss does not make up for a betrayal.

You push him away, and stumble back because your right leg is still in a caste. You glare at him, and wait for him to explain himself. You don't need to talk here, only he does. He needs to explain himself.

"Sorry," he pants. "No, wait, I'm not. But, sorry anyway. I'm not giving up on you, Itachi. I'm getting you back. I'm gonna make it up to you. I love you." You realise you love listening to the sound of his voice, right about here. You love everything about him, and so why, you wonder, does your heart clench so painfully? "Itachi?"

"You think there's something you can do about this?" You ask him quietly. "You didn't just cheat on your boyfriend, Naruto. You had sex with someone you brought into our home, into my office. You didn't cheat on your boyfriend; you cheated on your fiancé." He flinches, shocked, and you think he's the stupidest person on Earth. "You have some nerves coming here. I love you, yes, but I'm getting over that, trust me. Come back in a few months and ask me if I still love you then." He deflates, like you thought you would, and you just wish he'd stop showing up so you can mourn in peace. Him being here hurts the both of you. "Plus, what's going to stop you from doing it again if we get back together and everything miraculously goes back to normal?"

He struggles for words, blue eyes suddenly moist and brimming. His shoulders are stooped, hung. Honest, genuine grief is apparent in every fibre of his being. Now you know that he at least feels sorry for cheating on you. But you convince yourself it's not important, because he's going to go back and be with Haruno Sakura and forget about you. "I didn't have sex with her, Itachi," he says quietly, calmly, like he's suddenly the older one. You realise maybe you're now in dangerous territory. Naruto's got quite a temper. "I know what it looked like, but we did nothing more than kiss. That's it! I didn't… it's you…" His brows furrow, at a loss for words.

"Because I showed up, right? You couldn't get anywhere with her because I showed up. Well I'm sorry about that, but that was not my intention. Please, Naruto. If you're sorry, even a little, then leave me alone. I don't understand what you want by showing up. How did you find this place, anyway?"

He looks away, well avoiding your eyes. He tells you after a long stretch of silence; he's never been able to hide anything from you. "I hired someone. I looked myself at first, but you didn't want to be found. So I hired somebody."

"Sasuke didn't tell you?"

"No, the bastard wouldn't even talk to me anymore."

"Well, I'll have to talk to him about that."

You're not prepared for when he laughs, and when he does you jump. You hold onto the doorframe for support, suddenly tired and achingly aware of your casted leg. Before you, Naruto continues to laugh, bitterly.

"We're not kids anymore, Itachi. You can't solve an argument by giving us both a stern talking to. Especially not about this, when he's trying to hide you from me and I'm trying to win you back."

You scoff. "Is that what you want? To win me back?"

For a millisecond he looks hopeful, "Yeah. You can laugh at me and slam the door in my face, but I will win you back. I'll show you that there's only you."

"Well, isn't that a pretty little lie," you mumble and shut the door in his face, like he says you can do. You tell him through the door, "Go try and win Sakura over. I think it'll be easier that way."

**.^.**

'_Oh, God, it's started_,' you think to yourself, horrified.

The enemy has infiltrated your mind and poisoned you. Now he's there every second of the day. There's no cure, just as there's no cure for love, and you're left swooning and cuddling with your adorable puppy…. in a dignified, manly way.

You realise Naruto's gotten in your head when you think about naming the puppy after him. If nothing else, that's a sure sign of you already thinking about him. You don't want to forgive him, because then it would mean that you've left yourself open to him, for him to hurt you again. At the end of the day, after you spend hours playing with the puppy's bushy tail you decide to name him Kyuubi, because you can divide his bushy tail into at least nine other, thinner tails. You go to bed that night feeling proud… proud that you did not end up naming the puppy Naru after all. So there.

The next morning a delivery man, not Kakashi, delivers to you a box of chocolate and strawberry-flavoured chocolate lollies. After you sign the paper and let the envious delivery man go his way, you stare at the box for a while. You know, without a doubt, that this is it. This is the beginning of Naruto's quest to win you back. The question is how far will he take it? You and he would never just be boyfriend and boyfriend again. You're nearly thirty, and you want a nice house a little away from the cities with big green yards. You want kids soon too; because there's no way you're going to live this life without children. You'd adopt of course. You're as gay as they come… whoever they are…

Eventually you open the box, because Kyuubi is getting impatient and spastic.

Obviously it's your favourite sweet thing inside. Of course Naruto would know, but they boy's got another thing coming if he thinks you'd take him back with a box of chocolate. You frown and ask yourself. Would you take him back, seriously? You come up with a blank. You just don't know.

You eat the chocolate anyway, because they're your favourites, and you can't possibly think about throwing them out.

For the next three weeks it's like that. He sends you things, things you love and like and laugh at and smile at. One time he sends Kyuubi a chewing toy. Straight away you realise Kyuubi's on Naruto's side. You are entertained by the things that he sends you, but you're saddened at the same time. These things only prove that he knows you and has a lot of money. What's proving to you that he's not sleeping around with other people, now that he's free? What's proving that this isn't just an act, and that he's not really glad to get rid of you? You can't be sure.

Naruto gets one point, though. He hasn't shown up, not once, since you shut the door to his face. You told him "_If you're sorry, even a little, then leave me alone._" He must be a little sorry then.

The phone rings and your doctor tells you, "It's time for your caste to come off," and you feel stupid, because you've completely forgotten that the bulky thing even comes off anymore.

Kakashi takes care of Kyuubi while you go alone. Sasuke and Hinata are on their way up to see you. The official excuse is that they're here to see your father and talk business, but you know, as well as Hinata, that Sasuke's just worried. Sometimes you think you and Sasuke were born in the wrong order. Most of the time it's Sasuke that dotes on you and always secretly check up on you behind your back, and usually it's you who admire your little brother for being so healthy and active and talented in everything he does.

Anyway, after the caste comes off, the doctor assigns you a nurse to help get your grace back. The doctor talks to you, reluctantly, about your weight… or lack thereof. He goes on and on to inform you about a healthy diet, and how he understands that the caste might have affected your diet. You don't tell him about the vomiting whenever you think about your cheating ex-fiancé, or how sometimes time slips by you and you forget to eat. You don't tell him because you don't need another lecture, not when you're about to get one from Sasuke anyway.

"Oh, my lord," you groan into your pillow once you get home. Kakashi's gone home fifteen minutes ago, and you have fifteen more until Sasuke and Hinata arrive.

Your chest is heavy and you're so, so tired. You want to be left alone, like you were months ago, before Kyuubi and Naruto came into your lonely life. Kyuubi you don't mind, but everything else you do. You lie there with your face pressed into your pillow and realise that it's the emotions that are draining you. You've gone so long without feeling anything, and now, when you are, you can't handle it.

You want your Naruto back.

The realisation causes you great pain and your shoulders start to quake. Tears come to your eyes, and are soaked away by the pillow. You sniff quietly to yourself. You desperately want him back. You want that ring back on your finger; want Naruto's mess everywhere for you to clean up. You miss the smell of ramen. You miss him, the boy you grew up and fell in love with. You want him back, but you're so scared. You're so alone that imagine the feel of Naruto's big hands running over your back, always comforting, always gentle. His hands always calm you, and then, when they're assured that you're calm enough, they'd tighten, turn needy. Then they'd grip you and pull you up… or down, depends, and have their ways with you. Now that you think about it, you and Naruto had lots and lots of sex. You wonder if that's what kept him with you for so long. That explains a lot.

**.^.**

You can't exactly run, so you worry about Kyuubi. You let him run around your large apartment, but it's not enough. He needs fresh air and interaction with other… dogs. He needs the park, but that's a twenty minute run away and you just can't afford the time, not now that you're no longer crippled and your father is sending you more paperwork. Currently you're sitting at your desk, the dusty, messy thing and you're using the infamous Uchiha glare on the stacks of paper. They're not bursting into flames, so you must be getting rusty.

Someone knocks on your door, and you're there almost immediately.

You're expecting Kakashi, hoping for Naruto, but see three teenage strangers.

"Hi there," the only girl of the three teens chirps. She waves daintily with a big smile. "We're your new pet sitters."

You remain silent. There's surely an explanation for this.

"Show him the letter," a boy says, his round glasses gleaming. He sounds like he has a cold. "Go on."

A letter is pushed into your face by the boy at the centre. He hasn't spoken, but you think he might be the leader. He's got something resembling a pout on his face, so you conclude that they're here against their will. Now, who has the power to send teenagers here against their will? The answer's fairly obvious…

You read the letter, and upon the first line your suspicion is correct.

"_To my dear beautiful, silent but deadly Itachi,_" you feel the muscles at your temple start twitching. "_I put my trust in you and have sent you my most loyal minions. I hope you'll be a little bit mean to them and teach them a lesson about pulling pranks on their favourite teacher. Okay, the truth is, they've got detention, and they've been sitting here, staring at me for the last four minutes and I can't stand it. I'm sending them to you. You can let them take Kyuubi for a walk. Don't worry; they're volunteers at the shelter too. They're quite familiar with him. You don't have to be nice to them, I don't like them either, but you can be nice to Moegi. She's okay sometimes. Bye-bye, lots of love, you're sugar daddy._"

Over the top of the letter you peer at the three teens. They're staring at you, and you now understand why Kakashi couldn't stand them. One stare is okay, two's just uncomfortable, but three is just… not… bearable. Glancing back down at the letter and narrowing your eyes at Kakashi's attempts to be funny, you decide that you're going to burn it later.

For now you silent get Kyuubi and put him on a leash, and hand said leash to the girl, Moegi. You watch them go as they talk among each other.

"Why the hell do we have to do this?" You faintly hear the last boy say. He sounds indignant. "The prank was perfectly just! He's the one who said we should be more active, that lazy old pervert."

You smile.

The kids have gone for over an hour, it's now 4.56 pm. Very calmly you decide that if the kids have run off with your Kyuubi, then you'd maim Kakashi on the spot.

You here Kyuubi's excited whine before you hear the knock on the door, so you have it open before he can finish knocking. It's Kakashi at the door and you glare at him. He made you worry, and you don't do worry well. He gives you a nervous smile, which you can only see in his one eye. "Don't be mad," he says. "The kids actually took him out for a walk. I was on my way here when I passed them in the park, so I took Kyuubi."

Silently, reluctantly, you open the door wider for him, but out of the corner of your eyes, down the hallway and walking towards your apartment was Naruto. He stops where he is when he meets your eyes. You see him look at Kakashi, and then back to you, and then back to Kakashi. You wonder if that's what you looked like when you saw Naruto and Sakura, and decide that it's not. He only looks suspicious, not crushed, not betrayed.

You don't think about it, just reached forward and pulled Kakashi in for a kiss through the mask.

You're then surprised when Kakashi doesn't pull back. He does, eventually; when you're both sure that Naruto is no longer there. You should have known that Kakashi was aware of the blonde's presence.

"Are you happy?" The silver-haired man asks. "That was very childish of you." He hands Kyuubi's leash over to you, and you silently take it. Your mind is still reeling. "I'm gonna go," he says. You're scared you've chased away the only friend you have here, but he gently takes your chin in his hand. "And then I'm going to come back when you've sorted everything out." He lifts your chin and you have no choice but to meet his eye. You're very aware, here and now, that he's older, wiser. "You love him, you know, a lot. Go talk to him, and then, maybe eat something. You're too thin." You wonder if he's been speaking to Sasuke behind your back. Nodding, you pull back from him and shut the door to his face, this time gently.

That kiss hurt Naruto, but your chest is heavy and in pain. You've hurt yourself.

You don't sleep that night, but you lay in bed with Kyuubi and cuddle with your loyal companion. You feel really, really bad, but this is only because hurting Naruto made you feel a little better. He's got a taste of his own medicine, but nothing is fixed. You're still in love with him and want him every second of the day, and he's still not in your arms.

In the end, you get Sasuke to give you Naruto's new address. He's not living in your old penthouse anymore. You drive to his new apartment with Kyuubi in the car. You walk up to his door and knock, putting on your best 'sorry I gave you a booboo' face, which you used on Sasuke and Naruto until they were thirteen and was too old to fall for it. This time, you mean it. Kyuubi's in your arms and he holds still as you both wait for the door to open.

Naruto is shirtless when he opens the door. For just one shocking moment you think you've interrupted him while he's in the middle of something, with someone else. You start to feel your heart break all over again, panick rises and you start to back away.

Naruto is faster, knows you well enough to read that look on your face. He pulls you into your apartment, taking Kyuubi with you and closes and locks the door behind you. He gently takes fox-like dog from your arms and set him on the floor, where he proceeds to run away deeper into the unfamiliar apartment. You left trapped between Naruto and the door.

"I've caught you with someone else," he says lowly, "now we can talk."

"Are we going to talk here?"

He looks sheepish, which you find extremely distracting, especially with his lack of shirt. "Alright, let's sit. But then we're talking, okay? I can't stand this anymore." You're a little hurt by his words, but you don't show it. He's seen enough.

You both sit on the same couch, on opposite ends, and face the blank TV. Naruto still hasn't put on a shirt, and you want to point this out to him, but you don't because you're too busy feeling a little bit better that he's alone in his apartment, not with someone else. Plus, if you point it out, he'd know you've been eyeing his broad shoulders and muscular abs and his trimmed waist. Now's just not the time for that. So you don't point it out.

You look to your right at him and see his small smile. "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing," he says, a little too fast. He flexes his arms and stretch out on his end of the couch. That's when you know that he's noticed. "Just, ah, been working out." You look away and resist the urge to salivate. You know what he can do with his body, and memories are surfacing.

You throw a small pillow at him. "This is serious, Naruto. I caught you cheating, and you apparently want me to take you back. What are we going to do?"

His grin dims a bit, but that soft smile is still there. You hate that. You hate that he's still looking at you like you're his only love, his only one, when you know for a fact that that isn't true.

"I caught you too," he says quietly. "And it almost killed me, so I can only imagine what you must have felt like when you caught me. But you have to know, Itachi, that Sakura and I didn't have sex." He scoffs. "If you'd stayed long enough, you'd have noticed that my dick wasn't hard at all." You cringe at his crude language.

"Well I'm sorry that I didn't stick around for that," you snap at him.

"No! That's not what I… Jesus, Itachi. She was my first love, and you were there when I talked about marrying her every day. You were there for that. You know how I felt about her. Then she went away and you saw how broken I was. She came back, and I wasn't there for her, because I was there for you at your work." You hope he's getting to his point soon, because you don't know how much more you can take of all this talk about loving Sakura. "We met a few times, as friends, and she was interested in me." You roll your eyes, because you've seen just how interested in each other they were. "I told her I was engaged, showed her the ring, but she didn't take me seriously. Heck, you know our friends barely believed us when we said we were engaged. She just thought I was joking around. She thought you loved me like a brother."

He close your eyes tightly, almost as if to block the image in your head; the image of Naruto and Sakura, happy and together and married. The image where you're not in it. The worst thing is that you can actually _see_ it. Naruto would be so happy, and so bright. He'd be with someone his age, someone who could go to places with him instead of focusing only on work. It hurts, and you already regret coming here.

"That day I just took her back to our place so I could show her. I wanted her to see where we lived, what we were like, how happy I was with you. She just… she was happy for me, but I guess she was being serious when she said she wanted to give me a chance."

"And then you took it into my office and decided it was a good place to cheat on your fiancé," you say coldly.

"No, please, Itachi, listen to me. I was showing her all the rooms; I didn't want to encourage her. She was really serious about me. And then, in the office, she saw how much work your brought home and she was saying all these things about how unhappy I must be, with you working all the time. She thought I was feeling neglected."

"Were you? Were you feeling so neglected that you just… kissed her?"

"No. I did kiss her first, but only to shut her up."

"Because you can't stand to listen to the truth?" You snap. "I'm sorry if my work sometimes got to me, Naruto, but if you were feeling neglected then you should have said something!"

"That's not why I kissed her! I wanted her to shut up. I didn't like her talking about you that way! You're perfect and she just can't… I was happy with you, and she just waltzed back in."

"Then please tell me why you had your zipper open and your hands were up her thighs." You wonder where Kyuubi is, if he's close enough for you to just scoop up in your arms and get out of here. The more you listen, the more it sounds like Naruto and Sakura are soul mates and you were just the third person in the triangle. You were the antagonist in their love story. You can totally understand that. Sakura's smart and funny, and is really sweet and polite. She doesn't take shit and wouldn't hesitate to hit you if you're out of line. She's perfect… for Naruto.

"It was just… I don't know what I can tell you. It just happened. I didn't feel anything." You would have gotten up and left, but his tone is freezing you to your seat. He's really, truly sorry.

Both of you are silent for a long, long time, only listening to Kyuubi's shuffling around.

"Would you have stopped?" You ask him eventually. He is startled, and you know this is because you sound so defeated, so broken.

"I don't know," he says, and you give him points for honesty. "But I wouldn't have had sex with her."

"You still love her."

"No, yes, no. I love you more. I can live without Sakura just fine, but I can't live without you. I love you so much that it hurts. I was an idiot, and you have every right to hate my guts, but I love you so much." He's crying now, and it's not fair because it's making you want to hold him.

"You love me so much, and yet you could do that to me. You lose yourself and can be with someone else. What's to stop that from happening in the future? You can't even control yourself around Sakura. What happens in the future when you find someone you're attracted to, or you're bored with me? God, Naruto, I just can't trust you." His breath hitches, tears flowing down his face freely now. "We'd be miserable if we get back together. You can give Sakura a chance and be happy. She could be right for you and you'd never know that if you get back with me."

He laughs suddenly, and you know that now he's angry.

"What, so you can be with that silver headed weirdo? What the hell, Itachi? You don't even know what he looks like under his mask."

"How are you so sure? What's telling you that we haven't had sex?"

He's suddenly at your side, having moved from the other end of the couch without a sound. His warm hand grips your right forearm, hard. He just grips it, doesn't do anything else, and you know he _knows_. "He hasn't touched you," he whispers into your ear. "I know." If he makes a sound like he's sniffing you, you ignore it.

He's shirtless, shirtless, shirtless! He's half naked and you want him so bad!

He wants you too, because he pulls you half into his lap and kisses you hard. One of his huge hands grip the back of your head and holds you in place as he has his way with you, while the other hand never stays still. Desperate yourself, you fully move onto his lap and tug at his blond locks. One of you is trembling, or maybe both of you are. The pure want, the need is almost tangible. Your lips are bruising, you can feel, and you know you're leaving long, red marks on his neck with your nails. Naruto grounds you down, hard, onto his hard member. His tongue is in your mouth, slippery and wet and so adventurous.

You pull back.

"Was it like this?" You pant wetly against his red lips. "With Sakura? Did it just happen like this?"

"Yeah, only, with her I didn't want to do this." He shoves you back until you're lying flat on the couch, your hair a mess. He's on you in a second. His hand snakes under your shirt, and it's embarrassing how much you respond. He's touching you everywhere… except the place where you want him to touch you the most. His tongue is on your skin, under your jaw, on your neck. His other hand is terribly tangled in your hair. You don't think there's a way to untangle it. You have to get away, and it takes a long moment of closing your eyes tightly to calm. Gently, you push him off of you.

You're both apart now, and the need and lust and love is still roaring, but this is a fragile moment, and you cannot mess this up.

This time, the silence stretches on until it's 6.30 pm. You and he have been on that couch for over two hours, silent. Both of your arousals have gone down, and you're back to sitting on opposite ends of the couch. You have a feeling that you both would have sat there the whole night, if not for Naruto's growling stomach and Kyuubi's bored whine.

You and Kyuubi should go back to your own apartment now, but you can't even stand up. You can't leave him. You can't even picture going back to that dark, lonely place. In your misery, Naruto has gotten up and cooked dinner. You don't even notice. You do, however, startle awake when a plate of steaming rice and chicken is set in front of you, and a smaller bowl for Kyuubi. Naruto doesn't start eating until you do, though. It almost feels normal, like all the hurt and tension is gone. There's just you and him and Kyuubi, and dinner. You wonder how it all fell apart so easily.

Naruto finishes his serving and walks to the kitchen for another, and you put your spoon down. You're full, having only eaten half a plate, and already you feel sick. If you and Naruto get back together, you hope this reaction goes away; otherwise you're going to starve to death.

"What, you can't be full already," Naruto says, staring at you with wide blue eyes. "Is the food bad? Come on, you have to eat more than that." He's concerned about you, and for now, that's all you can see.

"I ate before I came here," you lie. "The food isn't bad."

"Right," he mumbles under his breath, putting his plate down as if he is finished eating. He's dimmer, not glowing like he used to be when he was younger. Did you do that to him? "Itachi, answer me honestly, okay? Do you think I can have another chance? Can I make this up to you and we can go back to the way we were?"

"I think so," you say, because you really do think so. You're already in love with him, want him so much. All that's got to be done is establish the trust again. "But, I need to know if you really were happy with me, Naruto. I know that work gets to me, most of the time, and I don't know what I can do about that. If it gets in between us, and it makes you unhappy, I don't think there's a point in going back there."

"Why do you think that?" He says heatedly. "Sakura's the one that thinks I'm unhappy with you, not me. Jesus, I know how you're like with work, and I get that. And I don't really care about that. I just care that you come home every night to me. We were gonna get married, Itachi, and I was so happy I didn't even know day of the week it was. And for the rest of my life I'm gonna regret what I did to you, to blow this thing off. But I want that again. I want to get married to you. I know, now, that it won't be anytime soon, but I can wait. Just… take me back, Itachi. I'm so sorry."

Kyuubi, the smart little thing, sensed the tension and high tailed it to Naruto's bedroom.

It's not a definite decision like 'Oh, I want to go left,' or 'I want strawberry, not chocolate.' It's more like 'I want it, so I'm gonna slowly see where this goes.'

You stand up, and Naruto follows you like a lost puppy. He's still shirtless, and you don't think he'll notice that any time soon. The fool. You reach up, up, up to put you skinny hand on his spikey head, like you used to do when he was just a little boy. The history between you is so endless. There's no way in this lifetime you're going to stop loving him.

"Don't do that to me again, Naruto," you say, and let go.

He doesn't stop you when you walk out his door, calling for Kyuubi to follow, but you think that has something to do with his dazed, goofy grin. He'll be standing there for the rest of the night, and you laugh for the first time in a long time.

**.^.**

It's a lovely, warm wedding.

Hinata won't stop blushing, or glowing, and Sasuke hasn't scowled yet. It's a lovely picture. You feel hopeful, that maybe Hinata will make Sasuke happy and live long enough for great grandchildren. Already Sasuke's eating healthier and smiling more, that's definitely a great start.

Next to you, your mother is crying nonstop, and your father has his head ducked down. He's not crying yet, but you think that he's close. You smirk to yourself. You're pretty sure that he'll break when he has a dance with Hinata and realises he's going to have lots and lots of grandchildren.

You dance with many people, including Hinata herself, but your true yearning is towards the tall, handsome blond currently dancing with Ino.

As if he's feeling your intense stare, how can he not, he politely lets go of Ino and comes for you.

You only notice the blue of his eyes, and nothing else. The wedding could be over, but you won't know. You only see him. He sees only you too, because he nearly trips over many people on the way. You stand there, waiting for him. He's an unstoppable force, and you're unmoveable. When you meet, on the wide dance floor, it feels like you've been defrosted, and can breathe and feel warmth again. For a little bit you feel guilty about being this selfish on your baby brother's big day, but you can never help it when Naruto's around… so, practically all the time.

You reach up, place a loving hand behind Naruto's neck and bring him down. You will not go on your tippy-toes for a kiss; it makes you feel short. You always have him come to you, and he's always willing. You kiss, and it's so very difficult to remember that you were ever apart. The kiss is draining, in a good way, and you feel him trembling under your hands. He's melting, and you're sure you're melting too.

"I'm in love with you," he breathes on your lips when you pull apart for air. "Just in case that's not obvious."

You laugh quietly into his neck. "Oh, I don't know. You're going to have to show me how much later."

"Can do," he whispers, and kisses you again.

The night is warm, and you shudder when the coldness of your engagement ring to Naruto lands on the back of your neck. You both taste like the loveliest wine.

.THE END.

* * *

><p><em>I apologise if the characters are out of character, as that was not my intention. I hope that I've delivered some angst or sadness, because I've never tried that before, and would like to know that I can at least write something sad. Please leave me a review and tell me if I can deliver angst, or if I should hang my head in shame because my writing's gotten so stiff. I'd really love to know what you think. Also, this is my first time ever writing in second person point of view, so tell me how I did!<em>


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